9th Grade Muslim student arrested for making a homemade clock fro school project

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It did occur to everyone that this wasn't a bomb.

However, because it had wires they thought that it was something intended to LOOK like a bomb.

They thought the boy was going to hide it somewhere and fake people out to make them scared, i.e. "what was your point in bringing this to school?"

The boy's response ( "It's a clock I made myself, I wanted to show my teachers how I made something out of electronic equipment") just didn't seem believable to the police officers, who kept pressuring him (without his parents present) to admit he had a more sinister purpose (i.e. he made a hoax bomb to scare people)

The engineering/science teacher told him to put it away and not get it out in school. It later beeped in English class. Wires and circuit boards making a homemade beeping timer object in a briefcase is just not something to bring to school. He was building a clock but it didn't look like a clock. What if the thing was on the street in DC [ie area cordoned off with police and bomb squads and building evacuated] or in the airport? Announcements always ask to report suspicious packages.

Sure, fine. All these things are reasons why it is understandable that the boy's device was reported, even investigated if school administrators didn't feel themselves capable of determining what the wire/circuit thingy was. However as the high school HAD an engineering class, I shouldn't think that something with wires and circuits was not allowed in school. And please keep in mind that MANY objects in school have wires and circuits.

Still, seeing wires and a circuit board, attached to an LED display (the thingy that shows the numbers on a digital clock) might make some fear for their lives. OK I get it. Call the police, sure. BUt once it has been established that this is not a bomb, do not arrest the boy and do not suspend him.

Also sounds like it might be time to get some more STEM (the E stands for Engineering) lessons into Texas high schools, and require knowledge basic circuits and batteries (5th grade science curriculum stuff) in Texan schools.

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If a kid brought a small black suitcase looking thing loaded with wires and circuits and even a clock-and plugged it in during English class-and it made a ticking sound-it would alarm me as a parent, teacher or school administrator. It would alarm me regardless of the kids race, religion or ethnicity. The school has to protect hundreds of kids during school hours-the clock or whatever the fuck it was looked suspicious-it did not look like a clock-but a small black leather , steel framed case with crude wiring and electrical tape. I think the school made the right call-perhaps the police could have questioned the kid more, called in his parents, or even bomb experts to inspect the device/clock. Perhaps this kid is a future engineer with lots of good to give back to the world, perhaps he is a future terrorist who will use his skills for evil. None of us know what his future holds-but I know that if my kid was in class with that kid, and brought that "clock" in (this is not the potato clock or a snap circuit kiddie type looking clock)-I would be happy to know the school took all the right steps as a precaution to protect my child. These are scary times we live in-a black kid in a hoodie, a muslim kid with a crude looking electronic homeade device, a skinhead white kid with a gun.....they can all be just innocent kids-or they can all pose a threat and do great damage to others.

If it was such an explodey risk why didn't they evacuate the school, bring in a bomb squad, etc.? They did nothing else, other than harass the suspected bomber, that resembles how they'd react if they really thought it was a bomb.

What compounds it is the school, police, etc., refusing to apologize. Hell I got an apology when I was driving on I-66 with hybrid plates (they let you drive in HOV lanes/roads in VA) and a cop mistakenly pulled me over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just another example of liberalism run amok in public schools. OMG, a bomb!!! Call the police, they will save us!!!

How on earth is this a LIBERAL issue?

The reaction didn't come out of a liberal stance. That's a conservative, tough on terror, tough on crime , we hate science, conservative stance. It happened in Texas. There's a bit of racism involved, since the kid is named Ahmad Mohammed. They labeled him a terrorist and the school district is standing tough on potential crime. There's also a bit of anti-intellectual/anti-science thing going on, since the school district and teacher are clearly not familiar with how much pre-engineering majors tinker with stuff. (My brothers were always messing with something.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It did occur to everyone that this wasn't a bomb.

However, because it had wires they thought that it was something intended to LOOK like a bomb.

They thought the boy was going to hide it somewhere and fake people out to make them scared, i.e. "what was your point in bringing this to school?"

The boy's response ( "It's a clock I made myself, I wanted to show my teachers how I made something out of electronic equipment") just didn't seem believable to the police officers, who kept pressuring him (without his parents present) to admit he had a more sinister purpose (i.e. he made a hoax bomb to scare people)

The engineering/science teacher told him to put it away and not get it out in school. It later beeped in English class. Wires and circuit boards making a homemade beeping timer object in a briefcase is just not something to bring to school. He was building a clock but it didn't look like a clock. What if the thing was on the street in DC [ie area cordoned off with police and bomb squads and building evacuated] or in the airport? Announcements always ask to report suspicious packages.

http://www.wired.com/2015/09/heres-bomb-clock-got-ahmed-mohamed-arrested/

I feel badly for this student. Students have been suspended for small plastic squirt guns. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-breaking-news/dc/st-albans-on-lockdown.html Suitcase bomb video hoax on a stranger in Florida http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/hitman-prank-lands-filmmaker-jail-bomb-hoax-charge-article-1.1115961

Sorry but the kid was not suspended. He was arrested. Clearly there was no bomb. He opens the thing and you see a transformer, a circuit board, the LED display and driver board. That's it. There is a complete lack of anything that could even be suspected of containing an explosive.

Surely the engineering teacher can see what I can see from one picture.

Surely the cops know or they would have accused him of more than a "bomb hoax".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It did occur to everyone that this wasn't a bomb.

However, because it had wires they thought that it was something intended to LOOK like a bomb.

They thought the boy was going to hide it somewhere and fake people out to make them scared, i.e. "what was your point in bringing this to school?"

The boy's response ( "It's a clock I made myself, I wanted to show my teachers how I made something out of electronic equipment") just didn't seem believable to the police officers, who kept pressuring him (without his parents present) to admit he had a more sinister purpose (i.e. he made a hoax bomb to scare people)

The engineering/science teacher told him to put it away and not get it out in school. It later beeped in English class. Wires and circuit boards making a homemade beeping timer object in a briefcase is just not something to bring to school. He was building a clock but it didn't look like a clock. What if the thing was on the street in DC [ie area cordoned off with police and bomb squads and building evacuated] or in the airport? Announcements always ask to report suspicious packages.

Sure, fine. All these things are reasons why it is understandable that the boy's device was reported, even investigated if school administrators didn't feel themselves capable of determining what the wire/circuit thingy was. However as the high school HAD an engineering class, I shouldn't think that something with wires and circuits was not allowed in school. And please keep in mind that MANY objects in school have wires and circuits.

Still, seeing wires and a circuit board, attached to an LED display (the thingy that shows the numbers on a digital clock) might make some fear for their lives. OK I get it. Call the police, sure. BUt once it has been established that this is not a bomb, do not arrest the boy and do not suspend him.

Also sounds like it might be time to get some more STEM (the E stands for Engineering) lessons into Texas high schools, and require knowledge basic circuits and batteries (5th grade science curriculum stuff) in Texan schools.

This. I understand why the teacher would send him to the office with the clock/bomb/wired up thing. I dont understand why he was arrested. I am glad the police are not pressing charges. I do NOT understand why the school is suspending him.

(I also don't understand why a pop tart gun is worth more than a detention for disruptive, annoying behavior.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It did occur to everyone that this wasn't a bomb.

However, because it had wires they thought that it was something intended to LOOK like a bomb.

They thought the boy was going to hide it somewhere and fake people out to make them scared, i.e. "what was your point in bringing this to school?"

The boy's response ( "It's a clock I made myself, I wanted to show my teachers how I made something out of electronic equipment") just didn't seem believable to the police officers, who kept pressuring him (without his parents present) to admit he had a more sinister purpose (i.e. he made a hoax bomb to scare people)

The engineering/science teacher told him to put it away and not get it out in school. It later beeped in English class. Wires and circuit boards making a homemade beeping timer object in a briefcase is just not something to bring to school. He was building a clock but it didn't look like a clock. What if the thing was on the street in DC [ie area cordoned off with police and bomb squads and building evacuated] or in the airport? Announcements always ask to report suspicious packages.

Sure, fine. All these things are reasons why it is understandable that the boy's device was reported, even investigated if school administrators didn't feel themselves capable of determining what the wire/circuit thingy was. However as the high school HAD an engineering class, I shouldn't think that something with wires and circuits was not allowed in school. And please keep in mind that MANY objects in school have wires and circuits.

Still, seeing wires and a circuit board, attached to an LED display (the thingy that shows the numbers on a digital clock) might make some fear for their lives. OK I get it. Call the police, sure. BUt once it has been established that this is not a bomb, do not arrest the boy and do not suspend him.

Also sounds like it might be time to get some more STEM (the E stands for Engineering) lessons into Texas high schools, and require knowledge basic circuits and batteries (5th grade science curriculum stuff) in Texan schools.

This. I understand why the teacher would send him to the office with the clock/bomb/wired up thing. I dont understand why he was arrested. I am glad the police are not pressing charges. I do NOT understand why the school is suspending him.

(I also don't understand why a pop tart gun is worth more than a detention for disruptive, annoying behavior.)

Yep, it's the fact that they didn't evacuate, call in explosives experts (who'd have laughed and had a long lunch over it), or do anything to mitigate the perceived risk ... that moves it from "tragic but honest mistake" to "harassment."

[Anonymous]

Let me try and get this right. Let's assume that the teacher genuinely thought that the black case with wires and computery-looking stuff was a cause for concern and possibly even a bomb. So, what does the teacher do? She doesn't pull the fire alarm or evacuate the classroom or anything else to safeguard the students or school. Instead she sends the student to the office to let someone else deal with the situation. And had it truly been a bomb, or the student had some malicious act planned, he would have had the opportunity to put the plan in motion. Nothing about this whole episode makes any sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let me try and get this right. Let's assume that the teacher genuinely thought that the black case with wires and computery-looking stuff was a cause for concern and possibly even a bomb. So, what does the teacher do? She doesn't pull the fire alarm or evacuate the classroom or anything else to safeguard the students or school. Instead she sends the student to the office to let someone else deal with the situation. And had it truly been a bomb, or the student had some malicious act planned, he would have had the opportunity to put the plan in motion. Nothing about this whole episode makes any sense.

I agree. They clearly didn't think the clock was an actual bomb or threat. By all means ask the kid about it, but to arrest him is asinine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
This. I understand why the teacher would send him to the office with the clock/bomb/wired up thing. I dont understand why he was arrested. I am glad the police are not pressing charges. I do NOT understand why the school is suspending him.

The school sent home a letter to all the parents. In it they remind parents that it is a violation of school rules to bring a suspicious item to school.

While we do not have any threats to our school community, we want you to be aware that the Irving Police Department responded to a suspicious-looking item on campus yesterday. We are pleased to report that after the police department’s assessment, the item discovered at school did not pose a threat to your child’s safety.

Our school is cooperating fully with the ongoing police investigation, and we are handling the situation in accordance with the Irving ISD Student Code of Conduct and applicable laws. Please rest assured that we will always take necessary steps to keep our school as safe as possible.

I recommend using this opportunity to talk with your child about the Student Code of Conduct and specifically not bringing items to school that are prohibited. Also, this is a good time to remind your child how important it is to immediately report any suspicious items and/or suspicious behavior they observe to any school employee so we can address it right away. We will always take necessary precautions to protect our students.

As to how he violated the Student Code of Conduct, on page 6 it lists the prohibited items in school.

http://www.irvingisd.net/cms/lib010/TX01917973/Centricity/Domain/1454/Irving%20ISD%20Student%20Code%20of%20Conduct%202015-2106%20English.pdf

Possession of Prohibited Items
Students shall not possess or use:
? Fireworks of any kind, smoke or stink bombs, or any other pyrotechnic device;
? A razor, box cutter, chain, or any other object used in a way that threatens or inflicts
bodily injury to another person;
? A look-alike weapon;
? An air gun or BB gun;
? Ammunition;
? A stun gun;
? A pocketknife or any other small knife, or any knife not defined as an illegal weapon;
? Mace or pepper spray;
? Pornographic material;
? Tobacco products; cigarettes; e-cigarettes; and any component, part, or accessory for an
e-cigarette device;
? Mechanical, electronic or imitation devices designed to simulate cigarettes regardless of
substance content;
? Synthetic marijuana
? Matches or a lighter;
? A laser pointer for other than an approved use; or
? Any articles not generally considered to be weapons, including school supplies, when the
principal or designee determines that a danger exists. (For weapons and firearms see
DAEP Placement and Expulsion.)

My guess is they will say that his device looked like a bomb, so it was a look-alike weapon. They will say that any reasonable person (in Texas, I guess) would think it was a bomb. Because it Texas they don't have Science and Engineering education, so people down there don't know the difference between a bomb and a bunch of circuits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let me try and get this right. Let's assume that the teacher genuinely thought that the black case with wires and computery-looking stuff was a cause for concern and possibly even a bomb. So, what does the teacher do? She doesn't pull the fire alarm or evacuate the classroom or anything else to safeguard the students or school. Instead she sends the student to the office to let someone else deal with the situation. And had it truly been a bomb, or the student had some malicious act planned, he would have had the opportunity to put the plan in motion. Nothing about this whole episode makes any sense.

No, she thought it might be a "look-alike" weapon, which is prohibited according to school rules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://reason.com/blog/2015/09/16/liberals-making-istandwithahmed-about-ra/email


Great article-not everything is about race or religion-it just is what it is!

Exactly correct. The school has intimate knowledge of this kid and whether or not he was an outlier or a troublemaker. From what I've read, there's nothing to indicate that. The school administrators were the ones who called the police because they saw this as a suspicious device. Evaluating such a device was either (a) out of their league (which is scary on its own) or (b) not even considered. I am VERY confident both my son's and my daughter's private would not have gone this route.

Once the police were called in, they had no choice but to take this very seriously. The average officer is not an explosives expert. Like it or not, it IS Muslim extremists that have posed a threat to our country. Irving has had its share of issues in this regard - they want a Sharia court and there is much animosity over not getting it.

I agree that the average officer is not an explosives expert. That is why there are things called bomb squads. I'm pretty confident that the DFW area has them. Irving after all used to be the site of a NFL stadium. That is also why you would evacuate the school, establish a secure perimeter and implement your mass casualty protocol by mobilizing Fire and EMS personnel and putting local trauma centers on alert. The actions of the school and local PD don't pass the straight face test.

[Anonymous]

A "look alike" weapon? Well damn, there's one on every wall, in every classroom in America.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me try and get this right. Let's assume that the teacher genuinely thought that the black case with wires and computery-looking stuff was a cause for concern and possibly even a bomb. So, what does the teacher do? She doesn't pull the fire alarm or evacuate the classroom or anything else to safeguard the students or school. Instead she sends the student to the office to let someone else deal with the situation. And had it truly been a bomb, or the student had some malicious act planned, he would have had the opportunity to put the plan in motion. Nothing about this whole episode makes any sense.

No, she thought it might be a "look-alike" weapon, which is prohibited according to school rules.[/quote

Bullsh*t. Did you even think about what you wrote? "[S]he thought it MIGHT be a 'look-alike' weapon ..." Give me a break.

[Anonymous]

We better get all those pointy things out of schools in Irving. Scissors, pencils, biology and chemistry lab equipment, glassware, cafeteria utensils, ammonia and bleach, javelins.